Electronic devices are incorporating increasing amounts of data processing capabilities in increasingly smaller form factors. For example, portable devices are able produce high resolution video data streams from either stored data or data received through either a wired or wireless data communications circuit. Portable electronic devices are increasingly able to process or create large volumes of data that are able to be provided to external data systems, such as storage or display devices. Such increasing processing power often is accompanied by increasing electrical power consumption. Further, many portable electronic devices include a portable power pack that comprises a power storage element, such as a battery, that is recharged or replenished with power from time to time. Several connectors are generally required to provide high speed data communications and electrical power to an electronic device. Adding additional connectors to an electronic device introduces costs, product reliability concerns, and susceptibilities to inadvertent disconnections during use.
Presently available connectors for data communications circuits often utilize electronic data communications circuits that communicate data by varying voltage levels and associated current flows. As communications speeds increase for an electronic data communications circuit, electromagnetic interference becomes a increasing problem. Electromagnetic problems include both emitted interference generated by the high speed electronic data circuit and data errors suffered by the electronic data communications circuit that are induced by surrounding electromagnetic signals. These problems become more pronounced in high speed electronic data communications circuit that operate over long distances, such as a circuit between two electronic devices connected through a multiple conductor cable that has connectors at each end.
Existing connectors complying with promulgated standards have become pervasive. For example, connectors, cables and supporting hardware and software compliant with the USB 2.0 standard are readily available. The USB 2.0 standard allows for both data communication and power transfer in a miniaturized connector adapted for use with small portable devices such as cell phones for both transferring data and recharging power supplies. However, as the processing power and data storage capabilities of devices increase, the desire for connectors able to provide for increased data bandwidth increases.
Therefore, present data communications circuit connectors provide for lower bandwidth communication using an established compact connector size, but limit the ability to communicate high speed data.